Valentine Ending
by Serena27-2
Summary: This story begins after Chapter 145 warning: ch. 145 spoilers . Kyouko and Ren's Valentine's Day is going from bad to worse! But how will it end? Is it still possible for these star-crossed lovers to connect or will Shou ruin everything!


Chapter 146: Valentine Demon

This occurs after Chapter 145 in the Skip Beat Canon was released. It contains spoilers for 145 and assumes you have seen/read it. There will be multiple chapters to completely tie up the Valentine's arc.

I use italics for internal thoughts and double quotes for speech. This is my first posting and I will happily make corrections (particularly regarding punctuating dialogue) if you so wish to point them out.

**Disclamer:** I do not own SkipBeat! or any of it's characters; they are the sole property of Nakamura Yoshiki.

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Shou crushed his lips against Kyouko's. _How dare you blush at the thought of another man! _he thought. _It can only be me!_

Suddenly a force slammed into him and he stumbled back a few feet. It was as if she had violently pushed him back, but her hands had never left her sides. He was instantly reminded of the time she had faced off against Reino in the forest. Her clothes seemed to swirl, and there was a darkness in her eyes he had never seen before.

Kyouko spoke in a low tone that reverberated in his soul, "How dare you!"

The darkness around her seemed to swell, but then suddenly dissipated. Kyouko, shocked, whipped her head away from Shou to see where her minions had gone; it was Ren.

_Is it the 'Emperor of Darkness'?_ Kyouko wondered. Her minion's were twining around Ren in ecstasy. His face was a mask of fury; a dark aura emanated from him. He stalked slowly towards Shou. Kyouko stared transfixed as Ren smiled in a way she had never seen.

He spoke quietly, "Well, well. It seems some people think that they no longer need to obey the rules of society when they become famous."

Shou sneered at Ren, annoyed at the interruption. "What do you...?"

[BAM!]

Ren slammed his palm into the blackboard, inches from Shou's face, cutting his sentence off. Everyone jumped, startled to see Tsuruga Ren use force. Standing so close, Shou had no choice but to tilt his head back to look his opponent in the eye.

"Do you think that it is okay to assault a woman, just because you are a star?" Ren asked, tilting his head. "Do you think no one will punish Fuwa Shou?"

Shou had been silenced by Ren's show of violence, but was now outraged enough to defend himself. "Assault?! I didn't --!" He glanced over at Kyouko. Her face twisted in pain and anger.

"You just did the very thing you so proudly saved Mogami from," Ren shot back. "I remember how you stood there in my hotel room, arrogantly announcing what a hero you were." He sneered at Shou. "You even looked down on me for having her in my room; chaperoned. But in the end, you're worse than that stalker."

Shou's face drained of all colour. He turned to Kyouko, "That wasn't what --! I wasn't trying --!" She was staring back at him, condemning him silently with her eyes. Looking at her, all his excuses became lodged in his throat and he couldn't speak.

"Now," said Ren quietly, "apologise to Mogami-san quickly and leave. You have caused her enough grief. I don't want her to have to look at you any more."

Shou glared at Ren. He hated himself, but he hated Ren even more for pointing out his mistake.

"After that," said Ren, sensing Shou's stubbornness, "you and I will have a... talk... about the rules of society".

Shou looked into Ren's eyes. He felt his heart clench painfully in fear. _He's just a spoiled model/actor,_ Shou thought. _Why does he have the hardened eyes of a killer?_

"K-Kyouko," Shou stammared, still looking at Ren. Ren's eyes glinted, and a feral smile crept across his face. Shou gulped nervously.

"I think," Ren said, "the time for such familiarity has come to an end. 'Mogami-san' if you don't mind?"

"Mogami-san!" Shou yelped and ripped his eyes away from Ren to look at Kyouko. "I am terribly sorry if my actions hurt or embarrassed you in any way." He sighed, frustrated, and ran his hand through his hair. "I'm not used to our new relationship. I don't -- "

"Yes," spoke Kyouko, her voice like ice, "you still think I am one of your possessions, to do with as you like. You are still a spoiled child, incapable of respecting the feelings of others if it does not accommodate your own wants." She walked away from him and bowed deeply in front of Ogata. "I apologise deeply for the delay in filming and the embarrassing scene you were all forced to watch. I will go to my room now for make-up."

She inclined her head towards Yashiro. "Yashiro-san. May I ask for a favour?"

Yashiro snapped to attention. "Yes, of course! Anything!"

Kyouko pointed to the flowers on the floor without looking at them. "Those. Please dispose of them. An incinerator would be preferable." She raised her voice so that Shou and Ren could hear. "While it is true that at one time they were what I most desired, that is no longer the case." A ghost of a smile flitted across her face. "These days, I think I much prefer something elegant and refined; like a single red rose." With that, she walked away slowly, the very picture of a dignified princess.

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Shou watched her go. He felt self-loathing, and another kind of pain he couldn't quite identify. Suddenly a very identifiable pain pulled him back to reality. Ren had clamped his hand on Shou's shoulder and was squeezing tightly.

Ren smiled almost jovially, "Well, you heard the lady. We've got a schedule to keep. I know these buildings can be confusing, so I will just make sure you find your way out." Ren made it look like he was casually strolling, but Shou knew that if he didn't keep up, Ren would drag him out. Yashiro hurried after them, flowers in tow.

Ren glanced over at Yashiro and smiled. "It's fine Yashiro, we don't both need to go."

"But Ren," Yashiro protested quietly, "there are people around. You can't do anything to him!"

"Don't be silly!" Ren chuckled softly. "I'm just taking a walk with our guest. I'll be back right away. Besides, I believe Kyouko asked you to take care of that." Ren's eyes flicked down to the bouquet Yashiro was carelessly dragging. "Also, make sure Ogata controls any leaks. This **_never_** happened. Do you understand?" He cocked his head; his gentlemanly smile was in full force.

Yashiro, reassured that Ren would maintain appearances, hurried off. Truthfully, he was happy to escape Ren's sinister aura.

"Now then," Ren turned back towards his unwilling companion. His hand was squeezing so hard, Shou gasped quietly and had to concentrate on keeping his face blank. "It's time for our talk."

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Kyouko sat in her dressing room. Luckily the make-up artist had not witnessed "The Incident." That was how she had labelled it. It was relaxing waiting while her scar was applied. It gave her time to re-focus. She needed to be on top of things and in-character. There was no way she was going to let Shou mess with her Mio. He had almost prevented her from getting her angel character right (she recalled the humiliation when he told her to "Learn acting"). He (and the Beagle) had also made her "Natsu" difficult to do yesterday.

"And now he wants Mio? Never!"

"Um, Kyouko-san?" The make-up artist looked warily at Kyouko.

"Eh?" Kyouko looked around. She was standing up, her fist raised defiantly to the sky.

"Who wants Mio?" the make-up artist asked.

Kyouko sat down. _Crap, I said that out loud_, she thought dejectedly. "Oh, I'm just getting into character. Sorry!" Kyouko smiled reassuringly and went back to her thoughts.

Thirty minutes later, the make-up artist stepped back from Kyouko. "There, all done! Turn and have a look in the mirror." She swiveled Kyouko around to see her make-up. "Well, you certainly look very "Mio" _now_!

"It's hard to believe this is almost the end," she went on, packing up. "You will probably be relieved when you don't have to sit through this any- Eh!? Kyouko-san?! What's wrong?" The make-up artist stood dumbfounded as Kyouko sat there, with tears rolling down her face.

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Notes: I wasn't sure if Kyouko's parting shot about the single red rose was in character, but I liked it so I decided to keep it in. I will post the next chapter soon. Thank you very much for reading my chapter!

Update: Thanks for the advice _Nehneh_. I've made some revisions and will continue to do so. Thank you for the wonderful comments everyone!


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